The 33rd Strike Group said it will build the plant to make 18-foot aluminum catamaran motorboats at the plant new Navassa.

Brunswick County Economic Development Commission director Jim Bradshaw says the company is renovating a plant and will open in May.

It is not yet taking job applications.

Bradshaw says the new company was attracted to the area because a couple of boat manufacturers had closed in the area. Bradshaw says The 33rd Strike Group knows there are workers in the area who know how to build boats.

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and...